Can closure



R. E. CARTER.

CAN CLOSURE. APPLICATION FILED MAY H, 1921.

IAW ML v Patented? May 23, 1922.

m FIG. 11.. .9

I I l 2 ROBERT EARL CARTER, 01E SYIIKJESVIJLLE, MARYLAND.

can oitosunn.

Application filed May 11,

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that ROBERT lEARL CARTER, citizen of the United States, residing at Sykesville, in .the county of Carroll and State of Maryland, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can Closures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in combined can openers and closures particularly adapted for opening condensed milkcans, and its primary object is to provide an improved opener which can also be used for the purpose of covering the openings produced un til it is desired to pour the milk from the can.

It is well known that large quantities of condensed milk and other liquids are sold,

in cans, which cans are usually opened by punching two holes therein at opposite sides of the top of the can. When the liquid is poured from the openings in the can it becomes smeared around the opening more or less and if allowed to stand for any length of time, flies light upon it and thus pollute the product.

With the present invention a device is provided for covering the openings to prevent flies from having access thereto and to prevent dirt from fallingtherein, thus keepin the product clean. with the above general objects in view and others that will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel form, combina-- tion and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fullydescribed, shown in the accompanying drawing and claimed.

lln the drawing wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a planiview of a can having the present device applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken upon line II-l[I of Fig. 1, and

Figure 3 is a further sectional view takenv along line l[IlIIIof Fig. 1.

Referring more in detail to the several views, 5 indicates the can, which may be of any desired size, and to which the present opener and closure is applied. The combined opener and closure embodies a suitable plate of sheet metal as at 6 which may have a handle 7 stamped integral therewith if desired, and extending from one side of the plate 6 is an arm 8 having a resilient Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 197222.

1921. Serial No. 468,575.

hooked end as at 9 for engagement with the edge of the can. Another arm 10 extends from the opposite edge of the plate 6 and has an integral resilient catch 11 stamped therefrom so as to engage in transverse notches 12 of an adjustable clamping hook 13 which is slidably guided upon the upper surface of the arm 10 by means of guide loops 14 which are also stamped upwardly from said arm 10. The 'adjustable clamping hook 13 is guided for radial movement and effectively held in adjusted position by engagement of the catch 11 in the notches 12, but by the application of force upon said hook, the same may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly, or in other words, toward and away from the arm 8 so as to effectively attach the device to any desired size of can with the plate 6 flatly resting upon the top of said can. 7

A tube 15 is fixed in a suitable opening provided in one end of the plate 6 and the same is provided with a side opening as at 16 at one side of said plate some distance inwardly from the pointed end 17 of said tube, and the other end of the tube at the opposite side of the plate 6 is open. An-

other pointed tube 18 having a side opening 19 is fastened through the plate 6 adjacent the other end of the latter and the same is provided with an outward right angle exsituated within the can so that upon tilting of the latter in the proper way, air will enter the can through the tube 15 and the liquid will readily pass outwardly through the tube 18, the device being efiectively held in position by means of the hooks 9 and 13.

A pair of ears 21 are struck from the plate 6 adj acent the tube 18, and a similar further pair of ears 22 are also struck therefrom adjacent the tube 15 with one ear of each pair in longitudinal alinement with one ear of the other pair, and a normally flat resilient and flexible strip of metal 23 is provided with depending pairs of ears contacting the ears 21 and 22 and pivited to the latter respectively as at 27 and 28, so that an end portion 29 outwardly of the ears 22 normally covers the outer open end of the tube 15, while the lll lll opposite end portion of the strip 26 is bent downwardly as at 30 outwardly of the ears 27 to normally cover the open end of theextension 20 of the tube 18, thereby excluding dirt from the tubes and the like while the openings in the top of the can about'the tubes 15 and 18 are effectively covered by the plate 6. As the ears 21 and 22 are spaced, the portion of the strip 26 between the same may be pressed downwardly by the finger so as to upwardly spring the ends 29 and 30 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, thereby uncovering the tubes and permitting entrance of air into the can through the tube 13 and pouring ot' the liquid from the can through the tube 18. Upon release of pressure from the central portion of the strip 26, it will return to its normal condition and automatically cover the tubes.

From the foregoing description it will be p readily seen that the device may be quickly and easilyapplied to and removed from cans so that one device may be successively employed by removlng the same from one can when the same is empty and applying the same to a new can.

Thus, an efliclent, durable and simple combined can opener and closure is provided which may be manufactured at a low cost and Which Will meet with all of the requirements for a successful commercial use.

It is believed that the construction and manner of use as well as the advantages of the present invention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art from the foregoing description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Minor changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as claimed.

\Vhat is claimed as new is:

A device for forming vent and flow openings in a cam embodying a plate member with puncture forming and closing means and .with integral oppositely extending side arms, one of said arms having a hook formed on the outer end thereof arranged to engage the margin of the can the other of said arms having a resilient catch thereon. guides on said other arm, and a radially movable hook member arranged to engage the margin of the can at the opposite side of the latter frolnthat engaged by the first named hook, said movable hook member being slidably mounted in said guides and having transverse notches engaged by said catch whereby said movable hook member is retained in radially adjusted positions.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature.

ROBERT EARL CARTER. 

